Eagles stock up, stock down after 1st week of training camp originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
It’s early.
Don’t forget that when you read this stock report from Eagles training camp. The Eagles have had three practices so far this summer. One lasted 58 minutes, one lasted 1:15 and one lasted 1:30. There’s a long way to go.
Get Philly local news, weather forecasts, sports and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC Philadelphia newsletters.
But every true off day of the summer, we’ll take a chance to step back and reflect and give you a few players who deserve to be in the “stock up” category and a few who belong in the “stock down” category.
Let’s get to it:
Stock up
S Marcus Epps
The Eagles have talked up Epps all offseason and he’s proving them right so far during camp. Epps has taken all the first team reps at safety through three practices and has looked very strong. He had a big interception on Day 1 of camp off a Jalen Hurts throw and has been really solid beyond that too.
LB T.J. Edwards
It won’t be easy to get Edwards off the field. Despite the addition of Kyzir White and Nakobe Dean, Edwards still deserves playing time and he’s proving that already this summer. The knock on Edwards is that he lacks coverage ability but that hasn’t been an issue this summer. He’s been all over the field knocking down passes.
LB Davion Taylor
Coming into this camp, Taylor was the forgotten guy in his room. While Taylor has mostly been running with the twos, he’s had some really impressive plays throughout the first three days. He had a very strong practice on Friday, with an INT off a deflection and a big pass breakup on Boston Scott.
TE Dallas Goedert
For all the talk about A.J. Brown — and he’s looked good too — Goedert has been super reliable and consistent throughout the early portion of training camp. He has been Jalen Hurts’ favorite target in the early going and is a candidate for a monster season.
S Andre Chachere
Interceptions in back-to-back practices gets you on the “stock up” list. Chachere is seen by many as a special teams ace, but he’s been shining on defense. After a big pick on Friday, he earned some first-team reps on Saturday and made the most of them, picking off Hurts in the first period of team drills.
CB Mac McCain III
The Eagles have 12 cornerbacks on the roster. After Darius Slay, James Bradberry, Avonte Maddox and Zech McPhearson, there are eight players fighting for just one or two jobs. McCain has put himself atop the second tier. He’s been the outside corner opposite McPhearson with the second team and has several impressive pass breakups already.
RB Miles Sanders
I know a lot was made about Sanders’ working with the second-team on Friday — something that absolutely happened — but that’s not to say Sanders hasn’t looked good this summer. In fact, he looks even bigger and more explosive this summer. He’s broken some impressive runs so far. He still needs to work on his pass-catching but he’ll be the feature back.
Stock down
S K’Von Wallace
With Anthony Harris getting worked back in and with Jaquiski Tartt still learning the defense, Wallace got some first-team reps the first couple days and didn’t really make the most of them. He had a couple rough moments on Day 1 and by Day 3, Chachere was the guy rotating with Harris at the second safety spot.
WR Devon Allen
The return to football hasn’t been as smooth for Allen as he had probably hoped. While he said he’s gained 10 pounds in his attempt to return to the sport, the world class hurdler has struggled in the early going. Of course, that’s to be expected for a 27-year-old who hasn’t played football since 2016. Hopefully, he can catch up enough to really utilize his speed during the summer.
QB Carson Strong
The UDFA from Nevada got $320K guaranteed so he has a good shot to make the roster. So far in camp, though, he’s been splitting the third-team reps with incumbent third-stringer Reid Sinnett. Strong has a rocket of an arm but he hasn’t connected on any deep balls. We’ve seen notable misses the last couple days, including one that landed about 5-6 yards out of bounds. That just can’t happen.
WR Zach Pascal
The veteran receiver missed the first three days of camp with food poisoning. He’s been back on the field but my guess is that his energy has been zapped. Food poisoning is an absolute bear.
DT Milton Williams
The first injury of training camp belongs to the second-year defensive lineman from Louisiana Tech. He missed Saturday’s session with an elbow injury. Hopefully it’s nothing serious and he’ll be back out there soon. The good news for Williams is that his roster spot is pretty secure.
Subscribe to the Eagle Eye podcast
Apple Podcasts | Google Play | Spotify | Stitcher | Art19 | Watch on YouTube
